| Details : | Group Captain R Ravishankar (20152) was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a pilot in flying branch on 14 Jun 1989. During these 26 years of service, the officer has more than 3500h of flying experience on Chetak, Mi-8,Mi-17 and Mi-17 1V helicopters. He has held varied appointments including Director (GW), DASI, Commanding Officer of a Missile Sqn and as Joint Director (Plans). In addition he also functioned as Senior Air Safety & Inspection Officer (SASIO) of a frontline helicopter base. The officer has undergone the prestigious Defence Services Staff Course in 2000-01 and Higher Defence Management Course in 2012-13. He was also selected for the distinguished UN Peace Keeping Force to represent IAF on deputation to Democratic Republic of Congo during 2009-10. The officer is presently Commanding an Air Force Station since 21 June 2013. As Station Commander, the officer dedicatedly worked towards bringing about multifarious improvements in the core activities of the unit and has ensured a high state of operational readiness since Apr 2014. In order to optimally utilise all the op assets in his AOR, he undertook extensive reconnaissance in the sector which resulted in diligent deployment of all sensors at forward locations. Due to his meticulous attention to detail and involvement, projects worth 1647 lakhs were cleared for smooth induction of many Missile systems within a span of 16 months. He formed separate teams to interact with officials of DFO and DEO for speedy clearance of more than 700 trees to enable commencement of construction of op infrastructure for these systems. In Dec 13, resurfacing of sparingly used helipad was undertaken and it was extended to 700 ft x 150 ft to accommodate larger helicopters for conduct of Night Vision Goggle (NVG) operations. The tasks undertaken by the Station in timely implementation of various communication projects, innovation towards man power reduction in mundane tasks and improvement of overall quality of life, is an achievement for any Station. For distinguished service of a high order, Hon'ble President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Group Captain R Ravishankar. |
